More and more parents from around the country are recounting horrific flu jab experiences amid mounting controversy over adverse reactions to the seasonal flu vaccine.

Australia’s chief medical officer, Professor Jim Bishop, has urged doctors not to use the vaccine on children under five, following more than 250 reports of adverse reactions – a figure experts and parents fear is being severely underestimated.

In Queensland, health authorities are also investigating the death of a two-year-old Brisbane girl, which may be linked to the flu vaccine.

As the vaccine saga unfolds, whether or not to vaccinate has also been a hot topic in online parenting forums such as Essential Baby, where hundreds of mothers and fathers have expressed their fears and detailed nightmare stories of their children’s reactions.